Enemy Territory: Quake Wars PS3

Enemy Territory: Quake Wars PS3

Platform: Playstation 3, PC, Xbox 360
Publisher: Activision
UK Price (as reviewed): £38.99 (inc. VAT)
US Price (as reviewed): $58.99 (inc. Delivery)

Computer gaming is often like Hollywood: it prefers to deal with shallow issues rather than tackling weighty subjects, but above all, both industries love sequels. Quite often it seems that the sole business rule for both is that if a game or movie sells well, create a sequel.

That's not to say that sequels are a bad thing, especially in gaming: sequels will often iron out the flaws and mistakes of previous iterations, meaning that sequels end up being more like the game that the developers first promised.

Of course, there are exceptions to this rule, and there are just as many examples where sequels are just as bad or worse than the original. Probably more.


One company that's made a success out of writing sequels for 15 years is id software. Their Doom and Quake titles are probably the most recognisable franchises in the games industry, and rightly so. Since the first Doom game appeared back in the mists of history (1993 for those people looking for a bit of pub quiz ammo), developers id have made careers out of updating and improving the Doom and Quake games, occasionally mixing things up with the less well-known Wolfenstein and Heretic series.

The latest addition to id's stable is Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, a frag-fest of a game from the people that invented the frag-fest. The original appeared on the PC at the end of 2007, and it's finally landed on the next gen consoles.

So is the console version of the game still a great frag-fest, or more of a snooze-fest? Read on to find out.

Error: Story not found

Quake has had a long a distinguished career without ever really having much of a backstory to the games. After all, you run around and shoot things. Why could you possibly want a story?


In fact, id founder John Carmack is now (in)famous for one of his more controversial quotes on the topic: “Story in computer game is like plot in a porn film. It’s expected to be there, but not really very important”

Oh. You do want a story? Well, here goes – but don't say I didn't warn you.

The Strogg are an alien race that we've met countless times before in countless (Two, officially – Ed.) Quake games. They're a race of battle-hardened creatures whose sole aim is to seek out new worlds and plunder them for food and supplies. Not really the kind of people you'd want to introduce to your mother unless she really has a thing for the Borg.

Whereas in past games, you've always battled the Strogg on alien worlds, the fight has now moved to more familiar territory: the Earth. Now you get the chance to play either as a human defender or a Strogg invader and join in the battle for Earth in this multiplayer focused shooter.

Disappointed? You've only got yourself to blame. I did warn you, after all. But let's get on to the porn gameplay and forget all about it.